The Brewing Storm
Reviewed by Tim McCree
August 2004

BOOK: The Brewing Storm
AUTHOR:  Paul Ruditis
NOTE: This review may contain plot spoilers.

In San Francisco, the weather does have the habit of being unpredictable at times, however, what does one do when it seems to be out of control? That is the problem the Charmed Ones face in this book. Not only is the weather going haywire, but once again a Demon is plotting to seize control of the world because of it.

Apparently, the crazy weather is being caused by a certain alignment of the planets, which happens every one hundred years. At this point, the only way to return the weather to normal is for the four Elementals, magical beings with powers over Earth, Fire, Water, and Air, to come together and perform a special ritual. Unless this is done on the Night of Aeolus, the crazy weather will eventually destroy the world. Unfortunately, a Demon named Tempest (not to be confused with Tempus, the Demon Of Time) is planning on stealing the powers of the Elementals and using them to turn the situation to his own advantage. Can the Charmed Ones possibly save the day this time?

One interesting aspect of this book is the Elemental with the power over Fire is none other than Tyler, the young firestarter that appeared in the Fourth Season Episode, Lost And Bound. When we first see Tyler in the book, we learn that he is with a new family, Paige having taken care of it through her job as a social worker. Unlike Tyler’s previous adoptive parents, who were actually Demons, these new parents are human. Tyler really wants a normal life, however, once again he finds himself caught up in the world of magic. It is necessary for the Halliwells to unbind his powers for this story. However, despite his reservations, Tyler does come through when he is needed. I like the little fellow.

I believe this is the first time a guest character from the show has turned up in a Charmed novel. Maybe, other guest characters could be brought back in novels as well. I could think of a few I wouldn’t mind seeing again (Rex and Hannah, Abbey the Bartender), considering that it’s unlikely the show will have those characters back again.

This book is a must have for fans of the much underused Daryl Morris. His character really has a major role in this story. It takes a good look at how Daryl manages to balance his normal life and his life as a friend of the Charmed Ones. Daryl’s wife, Sheila, also appears in this story. Daryl walks a fine line trying to explain to Sheila what is going on (at this point, Sheila is still unaware of the Halliwell’s secret). Still he does manage to pull it off.

It was nice to see Daryl help carry a major part of this story. As I said, he is much underused on the show, and this book shows just how much potential his character has. Hopefully, more books will include Daryl’s character in this light.

Some other points of interest I saw in this book:

1. Although he doesn’t appear in this story, Cole is at least mentioned. Phoebe thinks about her recent divorce from him. Also, the character of Andy Trudeau is mentioned a few times. Considering that Andy vanished from the books after the novelization of Something Wiccan This Way Comes (the pilot episode), it’s a nice touch to mention him.

2. The FBI is involved in this story. However, I’m surprised that the Halliwells made no mention of the incident with Agent Jackman (Witch Way Now). From the standpoint of this story, that happened not too long ago.

3. This story must take place just prior to the beginning of Season Five, as Paige is still working at the Social Services Center (she quit at the end of the Season Five premier episode).

4. The other Elementals, Gabrielle (Water), Muriel (Earth), and Raphael (Air), were well fleshed out characters. I enjoyed Rafe’s flirting with Paige. Clearly, the two of them were slightly attracted to one another.

There were a couple of bloopers in the book. For one, when Paige is looking up Tempest in the Book Of Shadows, she stumbles across the entry for Tempus. Piper then comments that they vanquished him already, however, that is wrong. The Halliwells defeated Tempus, but he was never vanquished by them.

The second blooper concerns this whole alignment of the planets thing. There is no way the planets could align once a century, like this story suggests. Each planet has a different orbital speed around the Sun (it takes Pluto over two hundred years to make one orbit). The idea that they could all align once a century is preposterous. However, I guess one has to suspend disbelief in the world of Charmed.

Still, this was an enjoyable book, especially for Daryl fans. 

I give it a 8/10 rating.

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